Plan to be healthier this year
As an entrepreneur, you’re driven, focused, dedicated to pursuing your dream. And willing to work the hours needed to achieve it. Often, unfortunately, that comes at the risk of taking care of yourself and your body.
With COVID, many of us have become much more sedentary, with fewer in-person meetings, visits with friends, or nights out. Zoom meetings have filled our calendars, and you’re likely spending many more hours working on your business on your computer at your desk. And because of that, you might be eating quick meals without much thought about nutrition, and running on less sleep than you need.
Research has also shown that entrepreneurs are often more isolated and under chronic stress, given the nature of the work, and therefore more prone to mental health challenges than others (National Institute of Mental Health study, 2020).
So as you make a plan for your finances and your time this year, be sure to also make a health budget to ensure that you’re not in the red. And stick to it.
- Set aside a particular amount of money for your health and wellbeing. Review this with your local health services provider and be sure that you fully spend it down each year.
- Set aside a set specific amount of time for your health and wellbeing each day and each week. You likely have daily and weekly routines for your business, from responding to emails, posting on social media, processing payroll, balancing your books. Add time each day and each week to take care of your body, whether it’s a daily walk, exercise, yoga, or another physical activity. Carve out time to plan out your meals so that you can have healthy snacks and meals on hand. And perhaps the hardest of all, stick to a bedtime.
- Add a quarterly health check-in to your schedule and ask a close friend or family member to hold you accountable. Often when we’re so busy, we might not notice changes in our mood or body, but those who are closest to us might. Schedule a regular check-in with yourself and with them, to honestly assess how you’re feeling physically and mentally and discuss what changes might be needed to be more healthy.
Do you have other health and wellbeing tips?
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